You know, I have to agree here. I have seen a plethora of posts and videos around the internet recently ranting about clones. To be honest, I don't think clones hurt the sales of original mods at all. The people buying clones probably wouldn't buy the originals anyway simply because of the cost. If the clones function exactly as the original and the build quality is the same, or very close, then let people buy them. I see people saying, "well I just wanted to try the clone first then buy the original if I liked it". This is quite absurd. High end mods wouldn't even be popular enough to clone if they weren't great to begin with. Price is the barrier to entry for many ecig users. Toyota can exist along side Lexus for a reason. There are those that can, and will, afford better things and will buy them for the prestige of it. I realize that both auto makers are under the same roof, so maybe mod makers should do the same thing. Make high end mods for those with the money to plop down on them, and make a another line of mods that are basically as good with small differences and charge lower prices for them. Most Toyota's are half the price of their Lexus counter-parts, yet Toyotas are the best selling cars in the US. Gotta be a reason.
Sure, there are purists in every segment, but to constantly whine and cry about clones is, quite frankly, old and seems forced. I keep seeing the argument of, "but when you buy clones you are hurting American vendors..."blah blah blah. Considering that most American vendors are simply selling upscale foreign mods, I don't see the problem. There are three local vendors in my area that sell "mods" in some shape or form. Even the stated clones are selling for ~$80. $80 for a Chi You clone from HCIgar? And I am to support that simply because they are local? Why is the ecig market somehow different from any other market where you can buy online and save money over local stores? I don't see people boycotting Amazon or Ebay or crying about how they are taking money from the local sellers of goods. "Where do you guys buy your Ekowool or Kanthal?" Then see tons of Ebay and Amazon links provided. Well, a local B&M store sells Kanthal @ $1 per foot. Yeah, I'm all over that.
Second, take a look at the majority of mods being cloned. The vast majority are not American. Most highly desirable mods are Filipino or European. I don't see that any American mod is that highly in demand in the first place. Just like the American auto industry, if we made better stuff in the first place, sales of foreign goods wouldn't be as high as they are.
Honestly, mod makers should take the whole clone thing in two ways. First, they should be flattered that someone warrants their devices worthy of cloning. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Second, they should take it as a wake up call. Charging several hundred bucks for a battery tube and $20 worth of materials may not be the best way to go about it. I realize that most manufacturers aren't huge operations, but several are still pumping out decent numbers of devices and generally have items in stock. Poldiac for example. Every time I check mmvapors, there is always at least one model in stock. I think some of these manufacturers realize that they have a great device and purposely underproduce them to drive up interest and perceived value. And that's fine, it's their device, but don't get .... hurt when the market sees an opportunity and jumps on it.
I wrote way more than I set out to.
TL;DR Quit crying about clones. If you don't want one, don't buy one. Your whining is not going to dissuade people from buying clones.
